Cronut Burger Link to 150 Staphylococcus Aureus Illnesses

This week, Toronto Public Health (TPH) has been investigating an outbreak of food borne illness among individuals who visited the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) in Toronto.

TPH’s investigation included a thorough on-site inspection of one premise on August 21, including collection of food samples for testing and interviews of individuals who were ill to determine their symptoms and what they ate.

As of 10 a.m. today, TPH has received over 150 reports from CNE visitors who experienced gastrointestinal symptoms after consuming food at the CNE from August 16 to August 20 and interviewed over 100 individuals. The only common food consumed by those who were ill is the “cronut burger” sold by EPIC Burgers.

“Early laboratory test results indicate that samples of the cronut burger were contaminated by staphylococcus aureus toxin which is a recognized cause of food borne illness,” said Dr.David McKeown, Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health.